Turning Eighteen
by Missmishka
Summary: Sequel to Logan in a Different Light, Rogue & Logue get together but Mystique throws a wrench into the romance. Title changed from Go Rogue, It's Yo Birthday
1. Disclaimer

DISCLAIMER: 

The following is a work of fiction inspired by characters from the X-Men: Evolution cartoon. Those characters and all rights to them belong to comic-genius Stan Lee, Marvel Comics, and a whole host of others who are not and will never be me.

I in no way claim or allude to ownership of anything related to the X-Men franchise.

All lawyers monitoring this site please don't hurt me. I have no life, no money, nothing but these delightful fantasies to keep me happy and I simply wish to share them with others who may enjoy them as well. Don't sue me. *adds pleading puppy dog pout and stare to my words, making it impossible for anyone to be angry with me*

Quick Notes to Readers:

This fiction is given a strong R rating for language and detailed sexual situations to come. It is a sequel to _Logan in a Different Light_ but I am posting it separately because that piece was mostly humor and this story is much more drama/angst and romance. 

If you are offended by sexual situations or should not be ready such …. well, I guess some would call it "smut" then please do not read any further. Also, if you read _Logan in a Different Light_ and wanted him paired with someone other that Rogue, you might not enjoy this fiction to it's fullest.

For those who wish to continue, please read and review this piece! Rave for it or rant against my perverted mind, don't be shy. Post comments here or emails are welcomed at missmishka@aol.com

Story Intro:

With all that mumbo-jumbo done with, let me dish the dirt on this little piece!

As you may know, the first story ended with Logan basking in his glory at being so admired by all the X-Grrls. Below is an excerpt from that final chapter that tells you all exactly where _Logan in a Different Light _left off:

"Logan wasn't about to put the moves on any of the girls there that they might be feeling partial to.

At least not yet.

But when **she** turned 18 things were likely to get very interesting around here."

That's what happens in this story. The lucky young woman whom Logan desires turns 18. What follows isn't just a fluffy romp, though it had many moments. Life has never been easy for Logan or Rogue and falling in love will prove just as tricky with a little unwelcome help from the girl's adoptive mother, Mystique.


	2. If Wishes Came True

"We've made excellent progress today, Rogue. You should be very proud, I certainly am." 

The Professor followed his words with a quick, gentle squeeze of her bare hands. With a gentle smile that spoke of his understanding of her frustration, he drew their almost daily session of trying to help Rogue control her mutation to an end.

"I think we'll take tomorrow and the weekend off then pickup again Monday."

Pulling her gloves back on, she rose from her chair and gave him a resigned nod.

"Rogue, we will find a way for you to control this. Do not get discouraged or give up."

She simply sighed and ducked her head at his encouraging words. There was no way she could explain to this man why she wanted control and wanted it now.

He wheeled over to her side and gave her now gloved hand another gentle squeeze. "Don't be thinking such dark thoughts. Take a break from all this and enjoy yourself. It's not everyday you get to turn 18, so just focus on tomorrow."

With a half smile that promised she'd try, she left his office.

__

Tomorrow.

Her birthday.

__

Yippee, whoo hoo, yay and all that, she thought with dark sarcasm_._

She accepted the Professor's assurances that complete control of her mutation would come eventually, but she'd wanted so badly to have made more progress by now. A month of hour or more long sessions almost every day had shown that with careful concentration she could control her skin for short periods of time. 

Her control had lasted thirty minutes today, which would have pleased her as well as the Professor if it weren't for tomorrow.

All she really wanted for her birthday, on her birthday, was to be able to touch one person.

__

Was that really so much to ask for?

While she would have loved to be able to touch him completely, as she did in her dreams and fantasies, just being able to receive a kiss from Logan on her birthday would have been enough.

She was pretty sure he wouldn't have denied her that, even if he didn't see her the way she saw him. 

Everyone works to grant the wishes of a birthday girl, don't they?

Sighing, she faced facts.

Unless she learned to control her life/power absorbing skin within the next twenty-four hours or some other miracle occurred, her dreams of touching Logan on her birthday would not be coming true.

~*~*~

Alone in her bedroom after dinner, Rogue sat cross-legged on her bed and meditated as the Professor had taught her in their sessions. Her room was silent, helping to keep her mind focused on her thoughts.

She didn't think of her mutation or a single one of the people that she'd absorbed in her life because of it. 

She thought simply of touch.

She replayed scenes and memories of the people she knew exchanging casual caresses, like Scott and Jean kissing or Amanda and Kurt walking hand in hand.

As always, fantasies of her doing such things and so much more with Logan drifted into her mind. The fantasies never interfered with her concentration. If anything, they improved it because making them come true was the goal she worked to achieve every time she did these exercises.

Thoroughly relaxed and thinking only of touching her dream man, she stroked a bare hand down Gypsy's back. The tabby housecat purred and arched into the caress while turning its head to lick at Rogue's hand.

The cat's gritty tongue rasped over her bare flesh twice with no sign of a reaction from her mutation, causing her eyes to pop open.

In the same instant she realized the touch hadn't had it's usual effect on the cat, she felt the pull begin. 

__

Dammit, I was so **close**, she cursed.

~*~*~

Ten minutes to midnight, the official start of her birthday, and Rogue couldn't sleep. She'd worked on trying to control her mutation for hours until the frustration at failing brought her here.

She'd probably fried her brain with all the concentrating she'd been doing, but a few minutes ago in her room she had had a thought.

If she couldn't control her mutation, there was still time to try for a miracle and she had thought of something that just might get her one.

Now she was rummaging around in the kitchen cupboards looking for something cake-like, a birthday candle, and some matches.

Minutes later and seconds before midnight, she was back in her room sitting at her desk.

On the desk in front of her the flame of a single candle stuck into a Twinkie flickered as she anxiously watched the seconds tick by on her clock.

As the all three hands marked the midnight hour, she closed her eyes and made her wish.

Fingers crossed, she blew out the candle and slowly opened her eyes again. 

12:00:10 am, her clock read.

Perfect timing.

__

Now if only this hair-brained scheme works.


	3. Bearing Gifts

Breakfast in bed.

It would have been a great way to start her birthday if Kitty hadn't done the cooking.

Two slices of French toast (soggy in the center but burnt around the edges) a serving of scrambled eggs (slightly runny) and bacon (two strips burnt two others appeared to haven't even touched the frying pan)

__

How the hell can I get out of this? Rogue thought with a weak smile at her friend.

Kitty was standing anxiously beside her bed, waiting for her to take her first bite and give a verdict on the menu.

__

~~Professor, Jean, will one of you please page Kitty. Now!!~~

Having taken a bite of the toast and found it to be heavily salted, despite the tons of powdered sugar coating it, Rogue was desperate to be alone to throw the whole mess away without hurting her friend's feelings. She gulped down some orange juice (thankfully straight from the jug) and watched as Kitty's brow suddenly wrinkled as if in deep thought.

"Dang, I gotta go, girl. Jean and the Professor are both calling me for something," Kitty said before quickly phasing through the door.

__

~~Thank you soooooooo much.~~

__

~~You're the birthday girl.~~ Jean replied.

__

~~Should I be concerned by your need for us to intervene?~~ The Professor asked.

__

~~Kitty made me breakfast in bed.~~

At that, there was a _~~Yikes~~_ from Jean and a chuckle from the Professor.

Smiling herself, Rogue set the tray of food aside and jumped from bed. She quickly dumped the inedible meal in her trashcan, pulled out the liner, and stood there debating what to do with it next. Deciding her oversized T-shirt covered her enough for a quick dash down to the kitchen to dispose of the evidence, she rushed to do just that.

She was nearly dressed and just finishing the orange juice when Kitty returned to collect the tray.

"Wow, you ate it all!" the girl exclaimed with surprised delight.

Knowing she should feel guilty, but not doing so for even a second, Rogue nodded. "Sure I did, Kitty. It was a great gesture for my birthday and just what I needed to start the day."

__

Funny how people always believe lies as long as they're in the form of compliments, she thought as Kitty took the dishes and practically skipped from the room.

Sitting down at her desk to put on her sneakers, Rogue looked at the spot that Twinkie had sat last night and then at the gloves she'd set on the edge of desk to put on after her shoes.

__

Could it have worked?

Did I need the gloves today?

Telling herself she'd been foolish last night to make the wish and was being even more foolish now to think it may have worked, she sighed and pulled the gloves on.

__

Things like that only happen in movies.

~*~*~

__

Thank God the Professor had the cake professionally done, she thought that afternoon as she sank her fork into the last bit of Red Velvet cake on her plate.

It was hard for her not to moan at the delicious morsel seemed to melt in her mouth.

"Ok, time for presents!" Kitty said as she saw the last bite disappear.

Rogue wanted to protest that Logan wasn't there yet and she couldn't open anything until he was, but everyone was looking at her so eagerly.

Smiling and curious herself to know what she'd gotten, she nodded her permission for Kitty to begin giving her presents to open.

The first one she was given was flat and relatively square. It had a card attached that identified it as being from Kitty.

Watching as her friend nervously waited for her to open the gift, Rogue did just that. Inside was an autographed Marilyn Manson Gift Set – a CD with some of her favorite songs from the shock-rocker and a video too. Gasping at the autograph bearing the words _"To Rogue" _she looked at Kitty.

"I kinda scared him into doing it the last time he was in the city. I had the CD and all already bought and when I heard he'd be in New York for some interview, I went to get it autographed. He was very happy to so it when I phased into his limo to ask for it." Kitty blushed.

"Thanks, Kit," the girls hugged. "I love it."

"Read zhe card." Kurt said.

Rogue went to do just that, but Kitty stopped her. "Um…I think like maybe you should do that later. Like in your room."

Knowing if it made Kitty blush like _that_ her own cheeks were likely to redden at whatever the card said, Rogue put the unopened card aside with her gift.

"Next." She said, changing their focus to the opening of another gift.

This one appeared to be from Amanda and Kurt, who moved to stand beside her.

"Read zhe card first." Kurt urged.

She obeyed and gently lifted the flap of the envelope to pull out the card. She mentally cringed when she saw the front of the card, which read "To my big sister on her big birthday." Kurt remained stuck on the idea of them being family, but now wasn't the time to argue with him again.

Then she opened the card and Rogue knew she'd never discourage him from seeing her as a sister again.

The inscription the card had come with was a standard little "May all your wishes come true," but it was what Kurt had written in his somewhat rough script.

"Our mother may be a curse, but her enabling us to be together will always be a blessing. Love, your little brother in all ways that count."

Eyes misting with emotion, she swallowed then hugged the boy who was in his natural state today, without the illusion of his image enhancer.

"Thank you," she whispered in his pointy ear.

He blushed and nudged the gift in her hand.

"Amanda picked zhis out for you."

"I'm not sure how you feel about jewelry other than your rings, but it really seemed to go with the card he chose." Amanda said hesitantly.

Tearing away the wrapping, she found a small jewelry box. Removing the boxes lid, she saw a beautiful silver charm bracelet sporting a single charm. A small genie's lamp, like all the movies and such show genie's appearing from when rubbed three times or something like that.

Thinking how suitable it was considering her whimsy of last night with wishes, Rogue smiled and put the bracelet on to show that she liked it.

"You can get lots more charms for it at the mall, the lamp was the only one that caught my eye when we were shopping for you though." Amanda said.

"It's so unusual to see a silver charm bracelet," Jean said moving in to look at the bauble.

"I like silver," Rogue defended automatically before realizing Jean had spoken only with a kind of curiosity.

"I know. I used that fact to help me select your gift." Jean smiled.

With that the remaining cards and presents were opened.

She read more cards that got her all emotional as well as a few that made her laugh.

Jean gave her a silver ring with lots of symbols on it, which she said were Chinese and for good luck.

From Scott came two tickets to an upcoming concert at the Garden by one of her favorite artists.

The Professor had given her a hooded emerald green cloak that bore the emblem of the X-Men on each shoulder.

A wide variety of art supplies came from both Hank and Ororo.

All the Junior X-Men, as the younger students had been dubbed, had chipped in to buy her a buy of kick-ass boots – selected by Jubes. They were black leather and intended to come to just above the knees, with a zipper running up the inside of her legs. The heels were four-inch stilettos. 

__

I take it back, these aren't kick-ass boots, they're fuck-me boots.

Wondering if they'd work if she wore them around Logan she saw the last unopened present and thought it must be from him.

There was no card and the wrapping was very simple, which seemed very much like how he'd do the whole gift-giving thing.

She eagerly tore into the package to see what he had chosen and found inside a medium sized plain white box.

Without hesitation she lifted the top off and set aside to see the contents.

Inside were a wide silver collar and a slip of paper.

Suddenly knowing this was not from Logan, she slid a shaky hand into the box to retrieve the note.

The words written on it had the same effect on Rogue's happy day as a bomb would have. Her peace was now shattered because of those two little words.

__

"From Mother" 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Speaking – Ok, I really need your help right now. When I started this piece, I had it in mind that Rogue would be able to touch thanks to the granting of a special b-day wish. As I wrote this chapter though, another possibility formed in my mind and I'm not sure which way to go. 

Should I continue with Rogue's wish being granted or shift to the gift from Mystique being what controls her mutation?


	4. To Trust the Untrustworthy

__

Next time we meet I will kill you, **Mother**.

The vow whispered through Rogue's mind as she crumpled the little note into a ball and hurled it aside. The box tumbled from her lap, unnoticed as she jumped to her feet and simply stood there in the middle of all her friends, body tense and fists clenched.

"Rogue?" more than one of them asked in concern.

Kurt went to pick up the collar that had fallen from the box, but Rogue stopped him.

"Don't. It's from Mystique."

The adults pushed forward at that, Hank, Ororo and the Professor looking at her with some worry.

"The note –" the Professor began.

"It only said, 'From Mother.'" She answered, knowing what he was about to say.

"Hank, I want you to find out what it is immediately."

The big blue man nudged the collar carefully back in its box before picking it up and leaving the room in the direction of the lab.

"I'm sure you have nothing to worry about, Rogue. For all she has going against her, Mystique has always appeared to have a genuine affection for you. It could very well be a simple gift." Ororo soothed with a hand on her shoulder.

Jerking away from the touch, she growled. "So she doesn't try to kill me at every opportunity, you know the saying about Greeks bearing gifts. She never does anything without a motive that's harmful to us and her using 'Mother' is a definite sign she's up to something."

"I have to agree with you both, it could be nothing but we have every reason to be suspicious." The Professor said. "Let us not allow this to spoil your day, Rogue. Hank will find out what he can about the item and then we will know how to proceed. Until then, this is still a party."

~*~*~

At last, the _party_ was over.

An hour after opening that last package, Rogue finally found some peace and solitude in her room. 

She sat on her bed surrounded by the gifts those she'd come to care for so much had given her. Gifts she could trust to have no ulterior motive. Gifts that came from the heart and were given with no strings, simply the intention to please the one they were given to.

Not like Mystique's gift.

__

What did it mean?

A collar. 

__

Was the shapeshifter trying to claim some kind of ownership of her?

Pets were given collars, as were slaves. 

__

Was Mystique trying to make some statement along those lines?

Magneto was rumored to have collars to control mutants on his side, something about them being able to subdue the wearer's free-will. 

__

If she had put on the gift, would she have found herself blindly obeying commands from Mystique to harm her teammates?

__

Dammit, Hank, what is taking so long?!

__

And where the hell if Logan?

The second thought stuck in her mind, causing Rogue to realize once again that the man had missed her party and given her no gift.

That there was a sign as big as Hollywood's that said she was wasting her dreams in that direction. If he couldn't even be bothered to show up for her "big day" he definitely wouldn't be interested in fulfilling any of her many fantasies.

__

Good thing wishes don't come true. 

Hers would have been completely wasted.

~*~*~

"Rogue, thank you for responding so quickly," the Professor said as soon as she entered the lab to join Hank and himself.

"I was already heading down here to see what y'all had found out when you called for me." She replied. "What have you found out?"

"From what I've been able to determine so far, I can say you were correct in assuming this collar was not simply a piece of jewelry." Hank said, turning with the wide silver circlet in large hands. 

"It does not appear to be harmful, though. In fact, if it's what I believe it to be, it could prove very helpful to you."

"Could you stop with the cryptic intro and just tell me what the hell it is?" 

He chuckled at her impatience even as Xavier took on that stern, about to lecture, expression.

"The compounds with which it's made make the collar a highly effective balance for the wearer's X-gene if they have one. Simply put, it's a mutation suppressor."

"Why would she give me something like that?"

"Unfortunately, I'm unable to locate Mystique to try divulging such information from her mind. We are only left with speculations. Though her reasons are selfish, she was genuinely concerned about your wellbeing the day all those you had absorbed tried to take over your body at the same time. This gift may truly be a gift to you to help control the mutation and keep you from absorbing any more people. She could be attempting to render you powerless for some reason."

"Would I really be powerless?"

"Little is known about mutation suppressors, Rogue. Those who really know the answer to that are scientists like those who gave Logan his claws and metal coated skeleton. They don't exactly provide accounts of their experimentations and results to the general public." Hank answered with some sadness at the fact.

"Does it really work?"

"We can only learn that by testing it and I admit we're all weary of doing that considering how the item came to us." The Professor answered.

Without speaking, she put out a glove-encased hand and silently demanding Hank place the collar in it.

After he did, she simply stared at it as she held it in that hand.

It really looked harmless.

It was about 16" in diameter, perfect for her neck. It was probably about a quarter inch thick and a full inch wide. The metal was silvery, but had a dull grayish tinge to it, signifying it was silver. The only break in the circle was a small separation at what she assumed was the back. 

Pulling apart the metal at the separation she found that the ends were magnetic, allowing the collar to be opened with a tug and closed back once the magnets were allowed to fuse together.

__

Magneto.

He had to be behind this somehow, even if Mystique had appeared to have parted ways the metal manipulator. Rogue could only think of him as someone who could create such a collar.

"That is my assumption as well, Rogue, but as with everything else I can only assume." The Professor said, referring to the thought he had read.

"Should I – " she bit her lip.

"We do not think that you will be harmed if it is worn for a short period, so I believe it will be safe to try it on to see if it does work." The Professor encouraged. "We will be right here to take it off the second it appears anything may be going wrong."

With that assurance, she again pried the magnetized endings open to slide the collar around her bare neck. 

The metal was cold on her flesh, but otherwise caused no noticeable reaction.

"Who wants to test this with me?" she asked, slowly pulling off her right glove.

In answer, the Professor simply moved to her side and took the bared hand in both of his.

Thirty seconds of contact between their bare skin and no pull.

One minute.

Two minutes.

After five minutes, still with no reaction from her mutation, the Professor released his hold and sat back in his chair.

"I think we can say that it does work on your powers, Rogue." He said.

"Good. I'd like to do some further testing on it now that we know that much. There's still a lot we need to learn about its composition and how exactly it is that a simple collar can manage to control a mutation as powerful as yours." Hank said, stepping forward to remove the collar.

Rogue jumped away from him, hand clasped protectively over the collar.

"Wait. I'd like to keep it on. Just for today. There's something I wanted to do today." She explains.

"There's nothing to stop you from doing anything you wish to today, Rogue. Why would you need the collar." The Professor asked brow furrowed at her statement.

"Ah…Ah can't explain it. Not rahght now, just let me keep it on tonahght." 

Her slight southern-accent always made an appearance when she was nervous and this was no exception. Her "I" sounds were being drawn out into a soft "ah" sound.

The two men exchanged a look at her plea, each concerned about the collar's potential danger but knowing Rogue must have a valid reason for wanting to take the risk. 

"Ah swear, Ah'll bring it to you first thahng in the morning and you can do all the tests you need." She promised them both.

"All right, Rogue, we shall wait until tomorrow to further explore the abilities of the collar. You must also swear that you will take it off immediately if you notice any form of a reaction. As unfamiliar as we are with such devices we may be powerless to help you should something go wrong." The Professor demanded.

Understanding and sharing that concern, she nodded. "I'll remove it and call for your help without hesitation, Professor."

With that, they allowed her to leave the lab and she went from the room gladly.

Her mind was whirling with two thoughts.

__

Fate worked in mysterious ways, was her first thought. She had thought her wish last night to be able to touch and be touched today had not been granted, but in some strange way it had been.

__

Thanks to Mystique.

__

God, the apocalypse must be coming if I have reason to thank that woman.

Shaking that thought away she focused back on her first one. Regardless of her motives, Mystique had given Rogue a way to control her mutation at least for the night to come. Rogue had no intention of questioning that fact as her focus turned to the other thought burning through her mind.

__

Find Logan. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Speaking: Yippee, I figured out a solution I like to the whole solution to Rogue's mutation thing! Hope y'all agree with it. Now on to what we all want – some Lo/Ro action!!!!!!


	5. The Real Birthday Begins

WARNING!!!!!! If it were an option, this story would be rated NC-17 or even **_X_** for the chapter that follows! ALL READERS know that I got _extremely_ carried away in writing this scene, but could not bring myself to edit the end result. IF you read installment and see ANYthing that you believe could or should be removed, please notify me immediately via a review or email and I will upload an edited version asap. This relatively long piece contains the detailed, graphic, vivid, explicit, and all that jazz telling of how I imagine every moment of Logan and Rogue coming together in this series. Read at your own risk.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

She found him just pulling into the garage on a shiny new Harley at about four o'clock.

"Hey, Stripes," he grunted in greeting as he removed his helmet.

"You missed my party," was the first thing that popped out of her mouth.

"Sorry about that. Ran into some delays picking this beauty up." He replied, climbing off the bike and indicating it with a jerk of his strong jaw.

"I saved you a piece of cake," she said absently as she turned her attention to his new toy.

__

Lord have mercy!

It was a beautiful machine.

A 100th anniversary edition, Harley Davidson Night Train with "Live to Ride" upper handlebar clamps, black leather seat, and an emerald green paint job.

She gasped with wonder at the sight of it and stepped forward to run her fingers over it.

"How did you manage this?"

"Like it do ya?" he asked with a half smile, avoiding her question.

"What's not to like? It's a dream machine."

Smiling even more, he went over to his area of the garage and picked up a helmet. 

"Put this on," he ordered, returning to hand her the item.

She looked at the green Super Glide full-face helmet now in her hands with another gasp, knowing how expensive those babies were.

"You're gonna let me drive it or are you offering to take me for a ride?" 

"Completely up to you, darlin', it's your bike."

Hard to tell which shocked her more, the statement he made or the endearment he used while making it. Regardless of which it was, she stood there gaping at him like a fish out of water.

Suddenly he was right in front of her, sliding hand covered with his leather driving gloves under her chin and gently urging her mouth closed.

"You'll catch flies if you keep it like that," he teased against her lips before placing his mouth onto hers.

The $300 helmet dropped from her hand to the floor as his lips began devouring hers.

His hand left her chin to slide around her cheek into her hair to hold her head in place.

If she'd been capable of speech, she would of told him such a move on his part was unnecessary as nothing on earth would have made her pull her lips from his.

But his tongue was parting her lips and teeth to thrust into her mouth and brush against hers and the sensations he was arousing left her breathless.

Finally, the shock wore off and she realized her dream was coming true. Logan was kissing her. Just as passionately as she'd known he would.

Thrilled, she began returning the kiss. 

Her arms slid around his chest and her hands moved upward to tangle in his hair as she pressed her body to his.

Suddenly, he yanked himself away and she cried out.

"What's going on here?" he demanded.

"Ah…Ah…don't know. One minute you were sahing that tha bike was mahne and tha next we were kissin'," she said, almost in tears.

Seeing her distress, he pulled her roughly back into his arms.

"I know that, Rogue, I've got no problem with that." He pressed a quick kiss to her lips. "I meant your skin. After a kiss like that I should be dead, but there was never a pull."

Smiling brilliantly, she grabbed his head and pulled it down for another deeper kiss.

"This collar can control it," she answered when he again pulled away demanding an explanation.

"How?" 

"I don't really know, but Hank says the metal it's made of contains compounds that suppress my X-gene and the mutation it's caused."

He pulled back and hooked a finger under the collar, looking at it with an arched brow. "Really?"

She nodded and placed a bare hand on his whisker stubbled cheek. "See?"

Before she knew it or could think to react, he'd pulled away from her, picked up the forgotten helmet, put it back in it's place, returned to take the keys from the brand new Harley and tuck them into the pocket of his skin-tight jeans, then grab her hand and begin leading her into the mansion toward his room.

__

"Logan?!" she finally shrieked halfway to his destination.

He stopped dead in his tracks, turned and pressed her back against the wall in the empty hallway they'd been moving along.

"You kissed me back back there." He said.

She nodded, confused by what that obvious fact had to do with his actions.

"Am I wrong in taking that to mean you want me as much as I want you?" he growled, looking deep into her green eyes.

"You want me?" she gasped in disbelief.

He smiled wickedly and ground his hips into hers, making the hard bulge straining against his zipper obvious.

"If that isn't answer enough, let's try this again."

He wedged his arms under hers, threaded his fingers through her short hair, slid her body up the wall until her mouth was level with his and her feet dangled an inch off the floor, then crushed his hungry mouth down on hers.

The actions sent desire and elation shooting through every cell of her body like a bolt of lightning. Her hunger flared back to life and she wrapped her arms around his neck and her dangling legs around his waist, holding on to him with all she had while he took her on this rollercoaster ride of lust.

Suddenly he tore his mouth away to breathe heavily against her throat above the magical collar. While he recovered the ability to speak, his right hand slid down her body to grab her butt and press their hips together.

"That say yes loud enough for ya?" he said roughly in her ear after a moment.

Moaning as his erection ground against a particularly sensitive part of her anatomy, she could only manage a jerky nod for him.

With a growling chuckle of pleasure at her reaction, he nipped sharply at her earlobe before licking the bite as she yelped.

Footsteps and laughter not too far away penetrated the haze around them.

"We can't do this here." 

As he spoke the words, he had already shifted her in his arms so that he had one behind her back and the other beneath her knees and begun moving again toward his bedroom. 

Loving that he was really carrying her as he had in so many dreams, with the intention of laying her on a bed and joining her in it, she tightened her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face against his silky blue-black hair while licking his ear as he had hers.

A warning growl rumbled through his chest at her action, but he made no move to stop her. Encouraged, she began sucking and nibbling on the soft flesh of his earlobe. 

Outside his closed bedroom door, he stopped to pull her teasing mouth away from his ear and cover it with his.

This kiss was different from the others and it caused her body to clench with the need for more.

His lips were firm, but gentle on hers urging them apart. When she did part them, his tongue didn't dive right in to start dueling with hers. Their open mouths just stayed locked together each swallowing the sounds of pleasure the other made.

When he pulled away again, her nipples were achingly hard nubs and a shiver raced through her body.

Impatiently, he turned his doorknob, kicked the door open, stepped through it into his bedroom then kicked it shut again. 

Gently setting her on her feet at the foot of his huge king-sized bed, he placed his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes.

"Are you sure you want this, Rogue? Because if I go any further right now, I won't be able to stop."

Looking into his rich brown eyes, nearly black with the way his pupils had expanded she fell in love with the man before her. 

Really in love, the love of a woman for the man she's meant to be with

Now she knew it wasn't hero worship or curiosity or puppy love that she felt with him, it was really the real thing.

Surer of that than she had ever been anything else in her life, she cupped his rugged face in her hands, looked deep into _his_ eyes and spoke the words that he could see shining from hers. 

"I love you, Logan. I don't ever want you to stop."

Then she kissed him with all the innocence she still possessed.

The gentle touch of her moist lips awoke the animal in him.

Demanding the satisfaction of claiming it's mate, it burst forth with a near roar of possession.

The animalistic sound excited Rogue and pulled the head he'd thrown back to release it back to her lips for a more demanding kiss.

A continuous growl emanating from his chest accompanied the rough actions of his body. 

Strong hands tore away her clothing, leaving the shirt and jeans in a useless pile on the floor. His mouth nipped its way down her neck, chest and stomach as he knelt before her to yank off her sneakers.

Blindly hurling the shoes aside, his gaze focused on the brief indentation of her bellybutton seconds before he pressed his mouth against it.

When his tongue rasped around the cavity before dipping inside, her hands slid and clenched into his hair.

After a moment of worshiping her navel his mouth moved a fraction lower to the elastic waistband of her simple white cotton bikini briefs.

Locking his eyes with hers, he took the elastic firmly into his mouth then quickly jerked his head backward. 

She felt the fabric tear away from her body then dangle almost comically from his mouth as he sat back on his heels, briefly basking in the fact that he'd been able to do that with just his teeth.

Then his fiery gaze drifted down to what had been revealed by his actions and the white cotton dropped from his parted lips.

"God, you're beautiful."

Standing before him in nothing but her simple white cotton bra, she felt beautiful.

His passion-filled eyes ran over her body like hands, lingering on the swell of her breasts beneath her bra, the smooth flat skin of her stomach, the bellybutton his tongue had teased and the soft flare of her hips. He stopped when his gaze returned to the nest of curly dark hair at the juncture of her toned, creamy white thighs.

Holding her breath, she watched him lift his right hand to slide it up the outside of her left thigh. It continued burning a trail up to her waist then across her abdomen before sliding down to brush across that nest.

Leaning forward again, he moved both hands to rest against her bottom while he inhaled deeply.

In any other situation she would have been embarrassed by the fact that his keen sense of smell had detected and was taking in the scent of her arousal. As she watched him appear to savor the fragrance, though, embarrassment was the last thing she felt.

Even more arousal flooded through her at the knowledge he liked what her body was doing.

He knew that is was doing it for him and drank in every reaction to forever imprint on his memory.

Finally, having absorbed her through sight, touch and smell he dipped his head to experience taste.

For the first time in her life, Rogue felt the hot moist breath of a person stirring the hairs that covered her mound. That first was quickly followed by the one of a tongue trying to slide inside her body.

She couldn't take any more after that.

Her bones seemed to be melting and her knees simply gave out.

She almost fell backward, but Logan's hands on her butt stopped her and urged her to collapse forward against his shoulders.

Quickly rising with her body pressed against him, he moved to lay her on the bed.

With eyes half-closed, she lay there and watched him tear away his clothing. 

His leather jacket was jerked off and thrown aside, his black t-shirt tore easily from his chest, and his belt whipped from the waist of his jeans.

The tight jeans proved something of a delay until he just unleashed a claw one each hand and sliced down through the side seams, ruining the black denim. Growling, he glared at his heavy combat boots before sitting on the edge of the bed to yank open the laces and fling them away.

Completely nude he twisted around on the bed in the dusk lit room and stared at Rogue.

Pushing herself into a sitting position, Rogue did some staring of her own.

__

He was perfect.

He flashed her a cocky smile, making her realize she'd spoken the thought.

Licking her lips, she gazed at his broad shoulders and muscular chest, as they were the only things really visible from her position.

"Can…can I touch you?"

The passion in his eyes flamed brighter at her barely audible whisper and he moved his body to lie to her right in the center of the big bed.

"Anywhere you want, darlin'" he said pulling her right hand to his chest.

Turning so that she leant on her left elbow, she first ran her gaze over his fully revealed body.

"That's gonna fit inside me?" she gasped, her wide eyes locked on his erection.

"Oh, yeah."

Focused as she was on his privates, she missed his confident smile and the way the tip of his tongue slid out to lick his lips in anticipation of the event.

"Really?" she squeaked, turning her disbelieving eyes to meet his.

"Really." He said, leaning up to drag her lips down to his with his left hand while taking her right one in his to urge it against his straining flesh.

Falling under the spell of his kiss, she followed his hand's silent instructions to wrap her fingers around the base of his hard shaft then slowly, but firmly squeeze her way up to the tip where a drop of moisture met her flesh.

Startled by the moisture she jerked her hand away. Her mouth left his more slowly, but still pulled away so that she could turn her attention to what she'd been touching.

Staring at the tip of his thick, long erection she saw some milky white liquid seeming to ooze from the slit. Knowing what it was, but extremely curious to know more about it than textbooks divulge, she reached out her hand again to touch it.

She found it to be hot, wet, a little thick and kind of sticky.

Curious still, she parted her lips and began moving her moist fingers toward them.

Logan suddenly sat up and clamped a hand on her wrist, stopping the movement.

Rolling her surprised body beneath his he pinned the hand against the bed, settled his hips between her thighs and claimed her mouth in a ferocious kiss.

A kiss a possession and the hunger of a man pushed to far by his lover.

She moaned into his mouth, arching her back to rub her aching still covered nipples against his chest.

Feeling the bra between them, he lifted his chest slightly, not breaking the kiss or the contact between their hips.

His right hand eased between them to release an inch of razor sharp adamantium to slice through the front of her bra. Cut neatly in half, he retracted that inch then pushed the two cups aside to caress her bare breasts.

Moaning even louder, she pushed a nipple against his palm and thrust her left hand into his hair to pull his mouth even closer to her own.

Breathing roughly through the flared nostrils of his nose, Logan released her other hand to use both of his on her breasts.

With a cry of ecstasy his mouth swallowed, she arched her chest into his hands begging them for every bit of attention they would give.

Growling, he took a soft mound of flesh in each hand then squeezed her nipples with his thumb and index fingers.

Hips rising and falling against his, overwhelmed by the kiss and caresses, Rogue's body soon clenched beneath his with its first orgasm.

Feeling more wetness rush against his erection as it laid between her legs, Logan threw his head back with an almost feral growl, forcing his body to fight the need to climax now racing through it.

His hands left her breasts to clench in the covers beside her head and he pulled his knees up under him until he was on all fours above her, only touching her flesh in a few places – none of them a danger to his fragile control.

The fog slowly clearing from her mind, it took Rogue a minute to realize he was no long touching or kissing her.

"Logan," she whispered in question a moment after the realization sunk in.

She made to stroke his cheek with a caring hand, but he shook it away before rolling from her to lie on his back with nearly a foot of space between them.

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked, hurt by his reaction and afraid in her inexperience she'd messed up somehow.

Hands now clenched at his sides, he adamantly shook his head no, but still hadn't enough control to answer verbally.

"Then what is it?" 

Again she went to touch him, but a warning growl came from his throat causing her to drop the hand she had extended to the bed between their bodies.

She stared at that had, biting her lip as tears filled her eyes.

__

He didn't want her now.

"NO!" he growled, lunging at her. "Never think that."

She realized she must have again spoken her thoughts aloud as his mouth desperately claimed hers.

"I want you so much, baby." 

He lay back on top of her, moving again between her thighs.

His mouth moved rapidly over her face, tasting the tears that fell from her eyes.

"So much." He began thrusting himself against her, not penetrating, just rubbing along her moist folds.

"Can't control myself anymore."

He grunted the words out as he began rubbing harder and thrusting faster.

Suddenly his hands clenched in the covers beside her head again and his body tensed above her.

In the same instant her name was shouted from his lips and warm liquid shot out over her abdomen.

Panting rapidly, he fell forward, bracing himself on his elbows so as not to crush her beneath his weight.

As he continued to gulp in air, she began to realize what had happened.

Her sudden orgasm had rapidly brought him to one.

Once his breathing calmed to nearly normal, he wrapped an arm around her waist and rolled over onto his back, pulling her on top of him.

He quickly arranged her legs to straddle his hips, then drove his hands into her hair to tilt her head downward.

For a heartbeat, his still fiery eyes locked with hers then he was kissing her lips gently.

Under her, between her legs, she felt him hardening again.

"I have wanted to be like this with you for a year now. Nothing will ever stop it."

He whispered fiercely against her throat.

Tears of happy disbelief filled her eyes at his words.

"Thank you." She whispered into his ear as she buried her face in the nook where his neck and shoulder met.

They kissed again with more passion as his fully restored erection rose to touch her most intimate flesh.

"Ready to do this right?" he asked.

Smiling, she brushed a kiss over his lips before saying, "There was nothing wrong with the first time."

"I love you, too. I should have said it sooner, but it's new."

Ignoring the growing demands of both their bodies, she hugged him tightly.

"I never dared to hope for that." She mumbled against his chest.

"It's yours Rog – " he broke off to give her a kind of serious and curious look.

"What's your name?"

Startled by the question she opened her mouth to give the automatic reply of "Rogue."

He placed a finger on her lips and shook his head, anticipating the answer.

"I want to call your real name out the next time I come."

Touched and thrilled by the words, moved away from his finger to give him a kiss.

He allowed the tender caress for a moment before pulling away and prompting for an answer to his question with an arched brow.

Her own brow furrowed in thought and she tried to remember the answer.

"I've been Rogue for so long now it's hard to remember I was ever called anything else." She muttered distractedly, searching her memories for her true name.

Suddenly an unknown woman's voice whispered a name across the abyss of her mind and Rogue knew she had the answer.

"Marie. I think its Marie."

Surprised but glad she somehow remembered that, she looked down to find Logan smiling up at her.

"I love you, Marie." He whispered before his lips gently touched hers.

Soon the emotional moments faded away, forced to wait for later as their bodies demanded a more thorough satisfaction.

Their kisses became more urgent. Their hands began moving hungrily over each other's bodies.

When she began grinding jerkily against his erection, he flipped her to lay on her back beside him. 

Lying to her side he slid one hard thigh between hers and began rocking it against her core. 

His left hand gripped her hip, guiding it until her body began following the rhythm of his leg without prompting. Once she was moving on her own, the hand slid slowly up her stomach and ribs to her breasts, brushing both mounds before focusing on the left.

While his mouth moved from hers down her neck to her shoulder and back up again, that hand wrung moans and cries of pleasure from her body as it caressed, kneaded, squeezed, teased, fondled and pinched.

It was quickly becoming too much for her again, but this time Logan had enough control to send her over the edge without following. He pressed his leg harder against her undulating hips and lowered his lips to her right breast. 

When he drew nearly half of the mound into the hot cavern of his mouth, accompanying the action with a vibrating growl and a firm squeeze of the left breast, she threw her head back against the bed and nearly screamed his name as a more intense climax claimed her body.

His inflaming caresses gentled to ease her back down as the shudders ebbed.

"So beautiful," he choked out against her hair, pressing a kiss against her head.

Panting, but otherwise calm once again, he urged her leg further apart and began kissing his way down her body.

He stopped to nip at the base of her neck, leaving a faint red mark. Then he lingered over her breasts, licking and suckling at each nipple until she was arching into his ministrations. Once done teasing those sensitive areas he moved over her stomach until again delving into her bellybutton.

Somewhere in the deep recesses of her mind, where the passion wasn't so overwhelming, she made a mental note to ask him later about his apparent fascination with her navel.

All rational thought fled every part of her mind, body and soul as he inched his body further down the bed to put his mouth in a position right above the juncture of her parted thighs.

For the second time in her life, the humidity of a person's breath touched her most intimate place.

The fact that that person was again Logan made her cry out in anticipation of the more she sensed to be coming.

Not wanting to tease either one of them, he roughly ordered her to open the eyes she couldn't ever remember closing.

When her heavy eyelids lifted, she found herself looked right into his eyes down the length of her body. Focused only on those eyes, she didn't care to notice how her body was spread out before him like a meal waiting to be devoured.

And as he continued to stare into her eyes while slowly lowering his mouth, she knew devouring is exactly what he was about to do.

Her body arched spasmodically at the first brush of his tongue, but their intense concentration on one another's eyes was not broken.

The second touch was firmer, lasted longer and caused her hands to clench in the covers beside her hips as she tried to press herself closer to that touch.

He then broke eye contact to focus his attention elsewhere. 

This time she felt her eyes fall shut as he took the knot of nerves between her legs into his mouth. Behind her closed eyelids, she saw brilliant flashes of light as his tongue and lips worked over that hard little knot.

She threw her head back, finding it hard to breathe as a thick hot finger teased then slid into the opening of her womanhood. 

Breathless as she was, she still found the power to scream out his name as her body reacted almost violently to the pleasures her was inflicting.

Her head tossed from side to side. 

Her fingers frantically dug into the bed beneath them before eventually latching onto his shoulders to try and keep her body from flying off into the heavens.

Her legs were flailing about until she bent her knees and dug her heels into the bed, using the leverage the position gave her to thrust her hips more firmly against Logan's incredible mouth.

She may very well have been hurting or suffocating him with her actions, but she was beyond caring and he never stopped so if she were it didn't matter to him.

Suddenly all her fevered movements ceased as her entire body seemed to freeze. Tense and arching like a bow, she felt as if her heart stopped beating.

Then with a scream loud enough to rattle the window, her fingernails pierced the skin of his shoulders and the orgasm slammed through her system.

Nothing had or could have ever prepared her for this and she found herself sobbing as the intense sensations flowed through every inch of her tense body until she lay limp and trying frantically to get air back into her lungs.

Nearly hyperventilating, she barely noticed a very concerned Logan rushing up to her side and murmuring soothing woods in her ear while a hand calmingly stroked her heaving chest. It took a full minute for her to finally draw a breath deep enough to fill her lungs.

Once that first breath was taken, she followed it with many more as she threw herself in Logan's arms.

Though his erection pressed against her hip, he took her gently into his arms with no intention to do anything but comfort his crying love.

When the tears finally stopped and her breathing returned to normal, she tilted her head back and looked at him through damp dazed eyes.

"God," was all she could utter before dropping her head against his chest.

He went to say something, choked, cleared his throat then tried again.

"That a bad thing," he eventually managed to ask. 

Speechless she slowly shook her head no against his flesh.

The chuckle of one very confident and satisfied male rumbled from his chest at her reaction.

For long minutes, they simply held one another. He would stroke her back and drops kisses on the top of her head, but they were more calming gestures than seductive moves.

The Marie/Rogue decided she was again ready for more.

She drifted a hand down his side, over his hip, then to the erection between his legs.

"Whoa, darlin'," he stilled her hand again. "I can't handle that right now."

"What can you handle?" she asked, not trying to be coy or seductive just wanting to know.

"Can you go the rest of the way now?"

At her nod, he gently laid her on her back again and took his place above her.

"Then this is all I can handle." 

Her legs parted with no urging from him and his body sank into the opening.

"This will probably hurt for a moment," he warned.

Again her nodding spurred him into action. With his left arm propping his torso up, he cupped her bottom in his right and lifted her hips while his slowly eased down.

Watching her face for any sign of pain, he nudged the head against and then into her virginal body.

Gasping and eyes going wide at the stretching fullness his movement caused she turned her gaze to where their bodies were coming together.

As her amazed green eyes watched, he gently moved inward until reaching her hymen, at which he stopped with a rippling of his muscles. 

He leant down to claim her lips in a quick kiss, not moving any other part of his body, before pulling away to inhale deeply.

Holding that breath, he gazed into the emerald depths of her stare and thrust powerfully through the barrier of her virginity.

The sudden invasion startled a yelp from her untried body as he released he tensely held breath.

"It won't hurt anymore. Just adjust to me."

While her mind was somewhat hesitant from the sharp sting of pain it had recorded, her body obeyed his command without hesitation.

All tensed muscles relaxed until she melted beneath him, suddenly welcoming the hard length of his body inside and atop her own.

With a gasp of wonder, her mind finally caught up to her body and recognized the beginnings of the wonderful sensations her lover had been creating in her all evening.

Seeing her complete acceptance, Logan pulled his hips back a fraction then rocked them back against hers. 

The movement rubbed his groin against that sensitive knot of nerves he'd wrung such a mind-blowing orgasm from not so long ago and the even more sensitive knot reacted by shooting intense please throughout her whole body. 

Smiling at her moans and gasps, he pulled his hips a little further away this time then slid back down.

Her body jerked beneath him as it spasmed around him, causing him to move more roughly when he next withdrew and pushed back in.

She made no complaint at his less controlled motion. If anything it inspired louder longer moans between gasping breaths.

Growling at her unintentional encouragement, he began deliberately quickening his movements. His right hand lifted her hips higher and he thrust with more strength against them.

Quickly being swept up in another climax, Marie/Rogue began breathlessly chanting his name with every downward thrust that ground him against her clitoris.

Feeling the orgasm build and take place in her body broke all semblance of control in Logan and biting into her neck along her jugular to mark her body as his he began slamming his hips into her.

When the wave of ecstasy finally crashed through his body, he roared her real name out at the top of his lungs, causing her ears to ring, while gripping her hip so hard the bruises would last for days.

This time he was unable to stop his body from collapsing on hers, but amazingly his weight was not too much for her smaller frame. 

In fact she welcomed it, wrapping her arms tightly around his waist as aftershocks continued to ripple through her system.

He stayed there like that for just a moment before rolling onto his side.

His right hand never left her hip, so their bodies remained as one as his head fell back against the pillows at the head of the bed.

The last thing she did before passing out was slide her leg over his hips to make sure their bodies stayed together.


	6. A Trojan Horse After All

Author Speaking – *blush* So…um…anyone besides Nesa still with me here? Ok then, you brave souls, I must inform you that I've gotten all that really steamy stuff outta my system…. For now. Can't make in promises for where my mind wanders in future pieces or chapters…or paragraphs. I WILL try to behave from here on out. I can swear to that. I always got a C for effort. :-P Ok, now the actual plot thickens!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next morning she was stiff, sore and unable to move from the bed.

Sometime during the night she had awakened to find Logan still inside her and once again hard. 

Her eyes had opened sleepily to see his burning with the need to take her again as well as an inner battle for the strength not to. Loving the power they had over each other, she had smiled and encouraged him to satisfy them both again.

He had and now she was feeling the effects of her greed, which he had tried to prevent with by coupling again so soon.

Logan, feeling extremely guilty for his hungry use of her virgin body despite her more than willing participation, told her to use her skin to absorb enough of his mutation to ease the discomfort.

"While I would love nothing more that to have you inside my mind as you are every other aspect of my life, soul, and body I don't want to risk either of us getting hurt. I haven't used my mutation on anyone since it went crazy on me and I'm a little afraid to try it again just yet." She replied.

"How about a nice long soak in a hot tub of water, then?" he offered.

The way her eyes lit up was answer enough to send him into his private bathroom and start filling the tub there with warm to hot water.

He returned moments later to lift her gently into his arms and carry her to the waiting water. He lowered he with great care and she sighed blissfully as the hot water and steam sank into her aching muscles.

Her eyes were closed as she relished the sensation, but she was so in tuned to his body now that she knew he had moved to kneel beside the tub.

A hand suddenly brushed her face before cupping her cheek and turning her head toward him.

Eyelids fluttering open, she met the warm brown gaze of her lover.

__

Her lover.

A happy, possessive smile touched her lips and lit her eyes.

"What's that for?" he asked at her new expression.

"My lover," she lifted a hand from the water to caress his cheek.

A satisfied growl rumbled through him at that and he leaned forward to claim the kiss he'd turned her head for.

He pulled away from the tender caress slowly, his eyes telling how much more he longed to do but couldn't possibly. Yet.

Sitting back on his heels, he ran that passionate stare over her body. He frowned suddenly at the mark on her neck just below the collar she still wore and the hand-shaped bruise on her hips.

"Sorry about that, darlin', it's hard to control with you." 

Hearing the regret at his roughness in the gruffly spoken words, she again lifted a hand above the water.

"You see this hand?" 

She waved it slightly until he arched a brow and nodded.

"Under these fingernails is skin. You skin. You may have healed right up afterward, but when I orgasmed I tore straight into your butt and shoulders. Don't ever regret showing me I effect you half as much as you do me."

Her passionate words, the glare in her eyes as she spoke them and the wave of hot water that splashed over him when she slapped her hand back down got her point through.

"Yes, ma'am." he smiled, apparently unable to resist another kiss after that.

When he finally rose to his feet again to leave her soak, she watched him while her head sank back against the rim of the tub. 

The collar made a dull thudding sound at her shift, making her remember her promise to Hank and the Professor.

"Damn." She sat up in the tub. "I've got to get this to Hank right way."

He frowned as he watched her pry open the collar and remove it.

"Why?"

"I promised them I would if they let me wear it yesterday."

"Aren't you meant to wear it?"

Hesitant to tell him the story about how she came to have the device, she bit her lip.

"What aren't you telling me? You just got real nervous about something."

Half-heartedly cursing his acute senses that could detect such shifts in her emotions, she sighed and tried to think of the best way to tell him.

"The collar was a gift for my birthday, but we don't really know much about it – like how it works and any possible side-effects. I asked to be allowed to wear it for the rest of my birthday in exchange for allowing them to test away on it starting first thing this morning."

"A gift? From who?" he demanded, sensing the answer to that question to be the big one.

__

Dammit, my man would have to be smart like that.

"Mystique," she muttered sinking down into the water.

"Mystique?"

He repeated her name in a very calm, simply questioning tone.

No snarling growls or unleashed claws.

Surprised by his reaction she sat back up to look at him.

__

Ahhhh, there's the anger.

Taking in his tense body and the way his fist clenched with the desire to release those claws, she smiled at how well she knew her man.

"Yes, Mystique."

"And you put it on?!"

"Yes, the Professor and Hank agreed that so long as I showed now signs of a serious reaction, there should be no problem with wearing it for a short period."

"We've been together for the past eighteen hours, I hardly call _that_ a short period of time." He growled.

Not really surprised so much time had passed she remembered those hours and simply smiled.

"Don't try to get around me with that look, Stripes, we are going to discuss this."

"Not so long ago, you were calling me Marie," she whispered to pull his thoughts away from the present into the recent past with her.

"You're to good at that for a virgin," he growled once realizing what she was attempting to do.

"Well, that's good, sugah." She flicked some water his way. "'Cause you know as well as I do Ah'm no virgin anymore."

He bent, still growling, to kiss her at that reminder.

Pulling away after a quick, hard peck he glared at her neck where the collar had been.

"What's that?" he demanded.

"What's what?" she countered, having no idea what he was seeing.

He quickly fished the forgotten collar from the tub then roughly lifted her still sore body from it.

He ignored her groan of protest at his actions and stood her before the mirror.

"What did this thing," he shook the collar at her reflection, "do to your neck?!"

Forgetting the aches and pains of her body, her mind focused all it's attention on the mark that so disturbed Logan.

Turning her neck left then right she saw that along every visible inch of her neck that the collar had lain, there was now a grayish-blue dusting of some kind of residue.

Remembering her promise that she'd call for help immediately if she noticed any reaction, she lifted a hand to hover over her neck and screamed in her mind for the Professor.

~*~*~

"Logan, please, if you cannot calm yourself and I will bar you from this room," the Professor said after thirty solid minutes of her worried lover's furious pacing and growls.

"Have you got anything yet?" he ignored the Professor to snarl at Hank.

"Logan, these tests take time. We all need to remain calm and be patient until we begin getting some results." The Beast replied yet again.

He was about to remark again about how much time had already passed, when Rogue sat up on the exam table and called him to her side.

"Baby, let him work," she said gently, stroking the tight lines of his face with glove covered fingers and looking deep into his worried eyes.

"I've never been good at just waitin' around, darlin'"

"I know."

Smiling she pulled his head to her chest and began massaging his shoulders and back.

As this scene had played through once before already, Hank ignored the couple and worked to try and hurry up his tests without risking any results.

The Professor watched them for a moment before turning to monitor Hank's progress. 

~*~*~

"From what I've been able to gather so far all I can offer are theories that will need more time and even further testing to confirm." A weary Hank said an hour later, finally turning away from his computer.

"Just tell us something," Logan snarled.

Everyone ignored his outburst and Hank continued.

"It appears that contact with skin, a natural moist surface, interacts with the compounds in the collar. I cannot yet determine if it is all compounds or only a select few. If the contact continues for a prolonged period, a residue consisting of your sweat and traces of the compounds builds up and as in your case, Rogue, leaves it's mark on the skin where the collar touched.

The man dropped his head suddenly before pressing on. "The tests I've gotten back so far on your blood, indicate a change in your X-gene. This is what I most need to study. Your mutation is still there and strong according to your DNA, but it has been altered by something in that collar that had made its way into your bloodstream."

He fell silent and for long moments, none of the other three in the room spoke.

"What all could that mean?" the Professor finally asked.

"Hopefully it has simply lessened the severity of Rogue's mutation, which would not be a completely bad thing." He turned to Rogue, "I want to remove the residue completely now and keep you under observation for at least the remainder of today. I have to be sure that I've stopped any more of the chemicals from seeping into your bloodstream as well as monitor whether those in your system remain, continue suppressing your mutation as they appear to be, or spread further and begin to destroy your advanced X-gene all together."

Gasping at that possibility, she clenched Logan's hand tighter with both of her own.

"Could this kill her?" he demanded hoarsely of Hank, gripping her hands back.

"No, I see absolutely nothing to indicate that as a possibility. It could permanently suppress or eradicate her mutation and while that may sound like a good thing, it would do such work by altering her DNA in ways we've now way to guess or anticipate."

"Find her," Logan growled turning on the Professor. "Find her NOW!"

"Logan, hunting down Mystique will do no good. We must deal with this here, ourselves." The Professor stated calmly, divulging the meaning of her lover's demand from his thoughts.

"While I agree that sending Logan after her will do no good, I have to say we may need her presence here to sort this out. Having been the one to provide the collar, obviously knowing its use, Mystique can doubtlessly provide essential details or pieces for me to work with. Somehow we do need to locate her and bring her here." Hank said.

Absorbing and accepting those facts, the Professor nodded solemnly before turning to leave the lab. 

Knowing that the man was heading for Cerebro to try and locate some sign of the shapeshifter, Rogue pressed herself closer to Logan's warm protective body and prepared to simply wait this out.


	7. Now It's Personal

Quick note of thanks to HoneyBug16 for the reminder of Storm's fear of dark, closed in spaces. In my first posting of this chapter I forgot and made the error writing the character into such a space without panicking. This is a revised chapter that fixes that.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

This time it was personal.

A huge fan of American movies, Kurt had long wanted to find a situation where he could use that line.

Never had he really thought he'd use it seriously rather than some kind of joke, but this time – this mission – was serious.

The woman who had given birth to him had done something to Rogue. Especially after yesterday, he thought of the older girl as his big sister and Mystique's treachery was unacceptable.

Logan wasn't the only X-Man wanting to get his hands on the shape-shifter and neither was Kurt.

Jean, Scott, Kitty, and Ororo were on this mission with him, all wanting an opportunity to beat the other mutant down. 

Logan had been left off the roster for this one because no matter how strong any of their desires to do great harm to Mystique, she had to be brought back alive.

The interior of the Blackbird was silent as they all focused on what they had to do tonight. The flight from Bayville to the location where Cerebro had managed to locate signs of Mystique was taking too long, even in their super fast jet.

Finally, Ororo was landing the craft as near the coordinates the Professor had given them as possible and it was time for everyone to get serious.

"She could be anywhere in the city or even had fled by now, spread out and leave no stone unturned." Scott, in leader mode, commanded.

"We'll be separating to cover more ground. If _anyone_ finds her or finds themselves in any kind of danger, use your comms immediately to give your location and wait for backup. Pay close attention to every street sign and landmark so we can get to you if lost." Ororo ordered.

After quickly double-checking that their ear pieces and communication devices were working, the team split up with everyone going in a different direction.

~*~*~

__

Alleys are just way too creepy at night, even for a mutant girl to be walking them, Kitty thought as she made her way down a dark and deserted one.

It was a warm night in the desert town and her heavy uniform was making her uncomfortable, but it was a small sacrifice to make to be able to help Rogue. 

__

As was wandering down this creepy alley alone.

Remembering Storm's orders she made mental note of the names of businesses around her as she phased into the buildings to look for Mystique.

__

If only Jean could lock onto her and give them all an actual area to focus on.

__

Or if the Professor had accompanied them on the mission rather than stay to monitor Rogue's condition.

None of them even knew what was really wrong with her friend, but if Hank, Logan and the Professor refused to leave her side, Kitty was scared. 

Shaking off that distracting emotion, she focused firmly back on her searching.

Within moments, she'd been able to determine that Mystique was nowhere along this alley, so she left it to go to the next one.

This one was less maintained than the last and had two homeless people lying in boxes along the back wall of a warehouse.

Hoping they wouldn't make a fuss as she did so, Kitty ignored them and phased into the warehouse. It was empty except for two more vagrants inside.

She was about to phase back out, when one of the occupants – a man - snarled out the word, "Mutante" in thick Spanish.

The other occupant was a female and she stepped toward Kitty menacingly. 

"We told the other one to get out, stay out, and keep your kind away from our city. Was she stupid enough to ignore us or were you stupid enough to ignore her?" the woman said coldly as she glared at Kitty.

"'The other one?' You've seen another mutant here?" She demanded.

"Si. We kicked her ass out of our home," the man replied in heavily accented English now. "Just as we will do yours."

"Wait!" 

Kitty dove out of the charging man's path and looked around for a high ground where she could talk to the couple safely. Spotting a stack of crates that should hold the mutant haters off for a moment or two, she run to the other side of the warehouse and climbed them.

"The other mutant was a she? Did she have blue skin and red hair?"

"That's the bitch," the woman replied, rubbing a spot on her shoulder to indicate that Mystique had injured her there in some way.

"Please, I know you don't like mutants, but I'm just a kid ok? I'm here to find that other mutant and take her away from here. She's hurt a friend of mine and if I don't find her I think my friend could die. Please, tell me when and where you last saw her and I swear we'll both be gone and never return to your home or city."

Unable to ignore the pleading in Kitty's voice, the angry couple stopped and exchanged a look.

"You must also make it clear that this town does not want mutants." The man stated.

"Absolutely."

__

I'll make sure none of the mutants I know ever want to visit this place, she added mentally.

"You're probably too late to find her in town. We found her in here looking for something to steal this afternoon. The last we saw of her was her blue body limping as fast as it could down King Street and toward the city limits at about 4 o'clock."

"Thank you. Can you tell me how seriously she was injured?"

"None of us had guns, unfortunately, so she only took a beating with stones and baseball bats. She was limping, but able to hobble off, so we didn't do any real damage." 

With that, the woman indicated she'd said all she had to or would say and it was time for Kitty to uphold her end of the bargain.

She quickly phased through the wall behind her and ran until she felt she was a safe distance from those two in case they changed their minds about letting her go.

Once satisfied, so radioed the info she'd gotten to the rest of the team.

~*~*~

"Have you been able to see anything?" 

Jean ignored the question and continued to concentrate on trying to locate Mystique.

Frustrated at having no success, she turned to the others as they all stood at the beginning of King Street.

"Nothing. She may be too weak from whatever injuries she's sustained or maybe those people lied about all this. I can't find a trace."

"She'll be hidink. She vould not have left zhis town because of some redneck mutant haters if zhere was somezing in zhat varehouse she vanted." Kurt said quietly.

They all took a moment to think about his statement before nodding.

"You're right. She'll wait until she thinks those people are asleep then go back to the warehouse." Scott figured.

"I really don't think there was anything in there she wanted to steal. Those people didn't seem very … um … rational, so if they saw her there they probably just assumed she was after something." Kitty said.

"I have to agree with that," Ororo added.

"This place isn't exactly a known tourist location and certainly not Mystique's cup of tea. I have to agree with Kurt and Scott that if she came here she came here for something." Jean joined in.

"Right. It's 9pm now and the vagrants are bound to still be up after running into Kitty, so we can't approach the warehouse yet. I think we should search all possible places that she may be hiding between here and there then meet at the warehouse at 11. Kitty, Kurt and Ororo – you cover east and south. Jean and I will take west and down."

The team again split up and went in their separate directions.

Alone with her boyfriend, Jean delayed him for a moment before he could start leading them down the left part of town.

"Scott, are you really sure we aren't wasting our time here? I know Cerebro found her here, but I can't sense anything. What will happen to Rogue if we're wrong?"

"The Professor says she was here and those vagrants confirmed it, Jean. This town seems to really dislike mutants, so I don't think they'd lie about chasing one off or know enough about Mystique to lie to Kitty about who they chased off. For some reason, she's here and I think her and learning what that reason is what we have to do to help Rogue."

~*~*~

No one was surprised when they reunited having found no trace of their target.

The woman was a chameleon and expert at evading pursuers. 

A fact that made Kurt hope she did not sense the trap they were preparing.

Following this hunch may be the only chance they had of getting Mystique back to the holding room they'd prepared at the institute so they could learn what she'd done to Rogue.

His glaring yellow eyes slid shut and the three fingers on each of his hands curled inward to form fists as he thought of his sister.

__

Nothing is going to happen to her. 

She'll be fine.

__

None of them would settle for anything less.

Shaking off his emotions, he focused on the mission in progress.

Kitty was just phasing back through the wall as he opened his eyes again.

The team gathered around her for an update.

"They're asleep, soundly I think. There are at least two doors for Mystique to enter through, numerous windows, and quite possible openings on the roof. I think our best bet is to hide inside and wait for her rather than try getting her before she finds some way in."

"Excellent, Kitty." Scott took in the information.

"You mentioned the warehouse was practically empty, are there enough inside to provide cover for us all?" Ororo asked.

"I think Jean will have to rearrange a few crates without disturbing the sleepers for us, but yeah we'll manage."

"Ok, take us in there and let's get ready. Kurt, you stand guard out here. Keep your eyes and ears open to everything around the building and if you here anything from us over comms don't hesitate to respond." 

With that order, Jean, Ororo and Scott all latched on to Kitty who phased the group through the wall into the warehouse.

Frustrated at having been left out of the most important part, he began teleporting to various locations around the building to stop and check for any suspicious activity. 

No matter what went on inside, Kurt would cover their backs and prevent any interference from the outside.

~*~*~

Inside Scott and the others watched from the shadows as Jean levitated and rearranged the crates that were stacked against the front wall of the building. Watching first one then two crates moved away, he again thought of how unusual their original placement was. 

Usually in warehouses such storage crates would be stacked against side walls or the back of the building, out of the way. These five large wooden boxes were piled just about ten feet from the front entrance to the place.

__

~~What the - ? Scott, come look at this.~~

Responded to his girlfriend's mental call, he moved quietly but fast until he was at her side.

__

~~A trapdoor. Call the others over.~~

Jean followed his instruction while he stooped down to look over the small square metal flap she'd discovered while moving the crates.

Congratulating himself for subconsciously knowing there had had to be a reason for the boxes being where they were, he pulled on the small handle to lift the flap.

Through the opening created all he could see was a metal ladder built into the side of the 4' x 4' shaft leading down into complete darkness.

__

~~Jean?~~

__

~~I sense no danger. It seems to have been abandoned like the rest of the building.~~

~~Mystique?~~

~~I can't be sure. There's something somewhere down there, but I can't get any kind of clear picture. There's some kind of interference.~~

Looking for the first time at Kitty and Ororo he noticed the older woman's almost petrified stare down into the dark opening she knew he intended them all to enter. Remembering her extreme claustrophobia, he told Jean to contact Kurt to come switch places with Storm and allow the weather Goddess to stand guard outside.

Within seconds the blue boy had teleported in, grabbed Ororo, blinked back out again, then returned to await their orders for what to do next. Sensing they were all getting uncomfortable about simply standing there with the homeless mutant haters snoring just a few feet away, Scott lowly gave the orders he'd formed so far.

"I think we've found what she was looking for. She may already be down there somewhere, Jean can't get a read, so we're going in without using our powers. I don't want anything to tip her off that we're coming if she's found another way in.

"Everyone get your flashlights out. I'm going down first and I'll call to Jean when I've made it safely to wherever the bottom is. If the coast is clear, you all follow with Jean bringing up the rear. There only seems to be the one handle, so your powers will be needed to close the door behind us. The last thing we need are those mutant haters waking and coming down after us."

All but Scott removed the VersaBrite II lights from the belt of their uniforms and prepared themselves for any possible outcome from this turn of events.

As they stood watching he turned around and placed his right foot on the first rung of the ladder before quickly moving his left to the rung below that and quickly climbing downward.

When he finally touched down on the solid ground of wherever the ladder led, he did some quick math in his head to estimate how far he'd come. He had instinctively kept track of the number of rungs he'd traversed and put the number at roughly 30, each spaced about a foot apart. 

__

30 feet down, he thought, _not so bad_.

Finally, he removed the light clipped to the belt of his uniform and flicked it on. The small hand-held spotlight lit the space in front of him, but there was nothing to see. 

The 4' x 4' square of the shaft he'd just climbed down changed into a seemingly endless corridor once he turned his back on the ladder. 

As he moved it around the beam of his light picked up a concrete floor, concrete walls spaced only four feet apart, a ceiling about seven feet above him and nothing but darkness after that.

__

Ok.

This is creepy as hell, but I'm the leader of the X-Men. I can do it.

Pep talk repeating itself over and over in his mind he began walking slowly down the long cramped hallway, his light not detecting a single door along the walls no matter where he shone it.

Thank goodness he'd had Kurt change places with Ororo, the woman couldn't have been blamed for freaking out in this situation. The situation being ripe with phobia inducing elements and bothering even Scott as he continued moved further along the corridor without seeing anything.

He'd welcome a rat or cockroach scurrying across his path or some speck of little on the ground.

Anything other than concrete and darkness beyond the glare of his light.

Finally in the distance ahead, something broke the monotony of his journey thus far.

A faint glimmer of light was visible some feet in front of him.

Shutting off his flashlight so it's beam would not be detected, he moved with all the stealth he had along the wall toward that sliver of light.

Getting closer he came to realize the glow was that of light shining out from the slight spaces around a closed door.

The door indicating a room and the light indicated someone was in that room.

This must be the place, he thought before calling to Jean to bring the others to his location.

~*~*~

__

~~I'm there, though I've no idea what or where there is. Send Kurt first then Kitty and make sure Kitty doesn't make a single sound. It's dark and closed in and very creepy, but you must all be quiet.~~

As she sometimes did when Scott was in this strong leader mode of his, Jean resisted the urge to roll her eyes and respond "Duh" to his ordering her to do the obvious. Instead, she acknowledges all he'd said and mentally urged Kurt to make his way down the ladder then move straight down the corridor until she reached Scott.

The Nightcrawler didn't hesitate to turn and quickly move down the ladder and out of their sight.

When he appeared to have been swallowed by the darkness of the shaft, Jean turned her attention to Kitty.

__

~~We don't know what we're dealing with here yet, but no matter what happened you cannot make a sound or any reaction that could jeopardize the team. From what Scott has told me, it's cramped and dark down there, but you **cannot** be scared.~~

Kitty just nodded, but Jean could divulge from her thoughts that the girl would make every effort to restrain any instinctive reaction that could prevent them from completing this mission and helping Rogue. 

__

~~Let's go now. I'll follow right behind you and we can stay together once we get down there.~~

~~That's a deal-clenching promise for me.~~ 

Kitty tried to joke with a weak smile before quickly moving to get down the ladder. 

As promised, Jean waited until there was enough space between them that she wouldn't step on Kitty's fingers then followed the other girls into the shaft. After her head was completely below the surface, she waved a hand and soundlessly pulled the trapdoor shut above them.

Both girls nearly gasped as the darkness completely covered them and the space they were in took on a very tomb-like feel.

Anxious to get to the bottom so they could begin using their lights, Jean urged Kitty to move quickly down the metal rungs.

Though it took only seconds to reach the concrete floor below, it felt like much longer. The moment they were both on solid ground, they turned on their lights and began moving as quickly as they could down the long corridor toward where the guys would be.

__

~~Lights off NOW!~~

Their team leader's sudden command had her automatically snapping her light off and making Kitty do the same.

__

~~We're about three feet in front of you, Jean. Just feel along the walls until you touch one of us.~~

Taking Kitty's hand in her own, she did just as he suggesting taking slow tiny steps forward in the nearly pitch-black corridor until her fingers felt Kurt's hair and hint of his pointy ear.

__

~~Made it.~~ she mentally sighed for everyone to hear.

~~Ok. Scan the room for any activity.~~

Jean focused her telepathy on that task and sent her mental feelers out through the closed door around which so very little light escaped and into the room the door blocked entry to.

__

Someone's there….. Clicking keys…. Computer keys….

__

Typing on a keyboard.

Focusing on the person in the room, she felt twinges of pain.

Not her own, but that of the person.

__

~~It's Mystique. She's injured like they said.~~

~~Is she still a danger?~~

~~Yes. Whatever was done to her was minor or superficial, she's still in fighting form.~~

~~Recommendations?~~

~~Send Kitty in to distract her then blast our way in.~~

~~Shouldn't we all try to sneak in?~~

~~No. I saw another door in front of her and I think Kitty should make her way through these walls and then enter from there. That way she'll be blocking the only other escape route, leaving Mystique to head straight for us as we burst in.~~

~~Good plan. Tell the others.~~

Smiling at how she'd impressed him, she did just that.

Pausing only to take a calming breath after being given the instructions, Kitty obeyed the order and phased into the wall out of their sight.

__

~~I'm in some kind of tunnel now.~~ 

The projected thought reached Jean seconds later as Kitty had apparently made it through these walls to some other place.

__

~~Do you see a door?~~

~~I'm ready to go through it at your command.~~

~~We're good to go. Tell me when your inside then we'll join you there.~~

~~NOW!~~

"Now, Scott!" Jean shouted the order aloud the second the word was uttered in her mind by Kitty.

Ready and waiting for the command, he touched his visor and released a blast of energy that blew the steel door off its hinges and into the room behind it.

He, Kurt and Jean all rushed in prepared to battle with Mystique, but the woman stopped them with her laughter.

"Goodness, Xavier has made you brats pathetically predictable."

Frozen in their tracks, the small team just stood staring at the blue skinned woman as she slouched down in an office chair sitting before a large computer console.

"You're coming with us!" Scott commanded.

"Only because I choose to, red-eyes."

"You'd come with us willingly?" Jean asked, shocked.

"I didn't know what would happen when I gave her the collar. I will do what I can to help her, even if it means putting myself in your hands." 

Sincerity oozed from the woman's mind and body. She sighed and slumped forward in her chair, almost seeming defeated.

__

Guilt. 

My God, what could she have done to their teammate that left the villainess feeling guilty?

"What is happening to her?!" Kitty rushed forward to demand, unknowingly voicing the question in Jean's mind.

"I'm hoping we can all learn that from all this."

Mystique nudged a pack backpack toward Scott with her foot.

Kneeling and keeping his eyes on the shape-shifter, he tore the pack open then lowered his gaze for a second to take in it's contents.

Jean too looked down, seeing inside nothing but binders, loose sheets of paper, some books, and lots of computer disks.

"What is all that?"

The woman lifted her yellow eyes to lock with Jean's - who had asked the question - and answered. 

"It's everything they ever did here."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author Speaking:

Da Da dummmmmmm! Mystique helping the X-Men willingly?

Nevah you say?

Well, faithful readers, have no fear. I am not making my favorite villainess go soft, simply working another rather famous quote into the plot/story. The first of course being "Beware of Greek bearing gifts" (shame on any of y'all who missed that in the chapter titles) and the next one will of course be "Keep your friends close and your enemies closer."

Quick question: Has the shift in focus confused anyone? These last two chapters just kinda wrote themselves and I'm not sure yet where they'll be leading. Stayed tuned for I'll bring ya more as it's written. :-) 

Mishka


	8. Harsh Realities

"Why are you keeping me in this room, Xavier?! I came here willingly to help you!"

Lunging from her bed along the wall opposite the one Kitty had just phased the Professor through, Mystique finally demanded an answer to the question that had been brewing inside her in the two hours since her _son_ Kurt had teleported her into the window and door-less room.

"I apologize for this, Mystique, but when we chose this room for you we anticipated you refusing any of our hospitality. Now, I'm afraid, I must keep you in it for your own protection."

"Protection?! From your mess of brats and kiddies who wouldn't kill a fly?" 

"No. From Logan who has become Rogue's lover."

__

"Lover?!"

Gasping the word, she stumbled backward away from Xavier before bumping against the edge of the bed and falling back onto it.

Her mind whirling with the ramifications of her adopted daughter partnering herself in such a way to the Wolverine, she made no effort to scramble back to her feet.

Three little words in the Professor's simple statement shattered all the neatly laid plans she had come here with. Plans she could never see through if Rogue had chosen to place herself as the Wolverine's mate. 

__

Perhaps there was still hope that she could – 

__

~~Not a chance, Mystique. I see we were all right to be suspicious of your unusual cooperation and my apology for placing you in this room is withdrawn.~~

That statement, spoken firmly into Mystique's mind, preceded the Professor's urging Kitty to phase them back through the wall.

__

Damn Damn Damn!

She jumped up again to pace the 10' x 12' room, filled only with such basics as a bed, toilet, sink, and showerstall. 

She'd searched and found no possible exit. The only way in or out was with the powers possessed by Nightcrawler or Shadow Cat. Even if she could find a way to reach them the tiny vents that allowed air to circulate in the room looked immovable and too small for her to get through in any comfortable form.

__

She was trapped.

Imprisoned again as a result of the actions of these damned do-gooders.

Focusing away from the claustrophobic fear that pressed upon her at those thoughts, she began to dwell on the consequences of Logan's involvement in Rogue's life.

If he cared for the girl at all, Mystique life was in grave danger for what she had already done and it would be brought to a swift painful end if he ever learned what she had planned.

__

How could Irene not have seen this coming?

It destroyed everything!

Even if Mystique got her "daughter" into the weak state she'd intended with the gift of the collar, Rogue would turn to Logan and Mystique would have no opportunity to manipulate the girl away from here forever.

__

No. She mustn't think so negatively.

It may take longer, but somehow she would form another plan to gain control of Rogue and harness the girl's awesome power to absorb and use the abilities of anyone she touched. To have such a weapon in her arsenal - a weapon that could utilize all imaginable powers at once - was essential to Mystique's plans for mutantkind.

__

~~Your negative thoughts are correct, Mystique. Know that the X-Men will do all that is in our power to protect Rogue from you and that power is considerable. She is home here. She is loved. Nothing you can do now will change that. Your plans **will **fail.~~ 

~~I will find something, Xavier. I **always **do.~~

~~Just as I **always** thwart you, Mystique.~~

That he uttered the thought calmly as simple fact and not some kind of taunt to goad her had Mystique cutting off all her thoughts and slamming a fist into the wall. Rage filled her at the realization that none of her thoughts would be private while she was here. She could do no planning, make no moves to achieve her goals. She had to be on her best behavior and never once let her thoughts stray to the vital memories of her past or any hint of her plans – with and without Rogue - for the future.

Those facts weighed heavily upon her and she realized she had made a grave error in coming here. For once in her life she was the first to admit that she'd bitten off more than she could chew.

~*~*~

"Well?" Logan and Marie demanded of Hank at the same time in the lab.

"I appear to be finding only good news."

Logan snarled at that vague answer and would have lunged at the blue man if she hadn't held him back.

__

Marie.

Her real name, known only to him, whispered through his body and calmed his spirit for a moment.

He turned his face to nuzzle against her bare neck and growl into her ear before turning back to glare intimidatingly at Hank.

"Ok, settle in for a bit because this is going to take some explaining."

Taking the scientist at his word, Logan climbed up on the exam table Marie still occupied, moved into a reclining position behind her with his legs parted and on either side of her body, wrapped her in his arms and pulled her tightly against his chest.

"I've only had two hours to look over a fraction of the computer files Mystique provided for us, but that hardly scratches the surface. Combined with the results of the tests I've been doing all day, though, I think we have enough to relax. Let me begin with where all this came from.

"The underground lab the team found tonight was a research facility that was under contract to the government – hence it's obscure and secret location – but unlike operations like S.H.I.E.L.D. and other mutant experiment projects, this one was run by a good man. A scientist by the name of Harold Kent, who I'd actually met before his death some eight years ago, that did his research to help everyone involved in the issue. He realized that mutations that were harmful to humans were also harmful to the mutant it existed in and working to prevent or control the negative aspects had been the focus of his life's work.

"The collar Rogue was given appears to have been a very early prototype of such devices from the beginning stages of Kent's studies. As his work progressed he realized that the lead in that collar, as it was mixed with the other metals and chemicals in the complex concoction that made the item, had a reaction to the wearer's skin and ultimately effected their X-gene if they had one. That much we had gathered on our own.

"There are two years of documented research on various mutants that tell us exactly how serious the effects are. For every hour after the reaction to the skin develops – that's the residue building up then rubbing off onto the skin – that the residue remains on the skin, the power of the X-gene is decreased by one quarter of a percent. It's a minuscule reduction that has no real effect in small doses, but over time it will cause the mutation to cease working altogether. From her tests and the time we can estimate the residue was on her, the potency of Rogue's gene has decreased by roughly 5%. The lemon juice mixture I used to remove all traces of the residue has worked to stop anymore of the chemicals from entering her system and there appears to be no further lessening in her genetic code. The damage already done will likely be permanent, but she's very young and there is a chance that over time the cells lost could be regenerated."

"But that's not bad news is it? Ah mean, Ah'm gonna be ok, aren't I?" Marie asked.

"Yes. For any truly noticeable or potentially dangerous change, I'd estimate the collar would have to be worn without removal for weeks not the relatively few hours you wore it. As things currently stand, the effects of your wearing it for that length of time are a great bonus. I've seen that Logan and you have discovered that your skin is much slower to respond to contact with another's."

"So if I wear the collar even longer, I'll be able to touch even more until eventually my skin stops reacting at all?"

"Yes, but we still have no way of knowing the long-term risks involved in doing that. Kent's research did not continue long enough to really explore more than effects over a five-year span."

"But I could use it to slow the mutation even more? I could do that and get my skin to a controllable level and not do any harm, right?

"I can only speculate. Over time, the X-gene's strength often weakens itself as the body matures with the mutation. I believe your X-gene is one that will do that. I have to recommend that you allow nature to take its course. There is just too much research into every possible action and reaction or further exposure to do before I could even think of suggesting another course of action."

"Then stop wasting all this time talking and get researching!"

"Marie – "

She turned her attention from Hank to him when Logan spoke her name.

"I agree with Hank, let nature take its course and forget the collar. Consider who gave it to you, darlin'. You have to know there's more to all this than meets the eye. I won't let you play around with it."

"'Play around with it'? I am _not_ playin' here, Logan. Hank is saying that wearing that collar could control mah skin! That is not a game to me!"

"No Rogue, I'm saying that what all these notes seem to theorize and work to prove, but it is all incomplete. Your mutation only manifested a short time ago. It's still new to you and your body. We have every reason to believe that time and more sessions with the Professor will bring the mutation to controllable levels naturally and without _any_ possible risk to you. I know the thought of waiting for that to happen is unacceptable when you appear to have been given an alternative, but even with the information I have here and whatever I find in further research I would recommend going with nature."

"So you're saying you won't even try the other way? You tell me all the things that collar could do – _without_ killing me – and give me hope that I can do something about this mutation that nearly killed me not to long ago and then yank that hope away simply because you 'would recommend going with nature'?" She advanced on the scientist. "FUCK nature! Nature would see me sucking memories and powers and lives out of people until it all becomes too much for me to ever fight off again. Leaving me to die with God knows how many lives and memories and people fighting to control my body and not one of them being _me_ anymore because **_I_** got swallowed up by everyone else inside me somewhere along the horrible journey! I won't go that. If there is a single glimmer of hope or possibility that that future could be changed, you had better do every God damned thing you can to make it happen."

She ended on a sob and threw herself into Logan's arms. Shocked by her passionate words, he automatically hugged her to him and tried to sooth her sobbing body.

He and Hank exchanged a look over her head.

His eyes told the other man to do all the research he had to and make that collar work for his lover or face the slashing fury of his claws.

Hank wasn't bothered at all by the threat in Logan's eyes. It was Rogue passionate fury and pleading demands that had him nodding and turning to begin the lengthy task of learning all he could.

"The research will do no good, Hank." The Professor said quietly, having entered the room unnoticed.

Hank and Logan both turned to stare at the man in his wheelchair.

Ignoring them, he moved to turn the still crying Rogue from her lover's embrace. 

He waited for her to calm her emotions until she was staring at him curious at the reason for his actions then urged the girl to kneel before him so that there eyes were on the same level and locked together.

"There is no hope, Rogue. I am so very sorry that I was too occupied with Mystique to stop Hank from saying something without knowing all the facts. Dr. Kent was not the man he appeared to be and Hank, I fear you are one of many mutants to believe the façade he presented to the world. Years ago I was also under the illusion that he was a truly good human who would help the mutant cause immensely. Then I met the man before his death and saw into his mind and true intentions.

"He was filled with hatred for our kind. The files that you have been reading on those disks contain false, incomplete, or otherwise misleading information that was monitored by and sent to the government agency he was contracted to. He never even let on to them the true purpose of his research, knowing that mutants could very likely be within the agency, privy to the information and ultimately bring his operation to a halt. That true purpose was to get humans and mutants alike to believe he had found a way to cure and/or control mutations with simple devices like that collar so that all mutants would rush out to get them.

"We're very fortunate that Rogue's collar was among the first he ever created. It's power was weak and took great lengths of time to have any effect and far too long to have the effect he desired. He was creating the collars to kill mutants and each device he created after Rogue's prototype did so faster and in more horrible ways than the one before it. He killed them all by using certain ingredients in the device to weaken their mutations while all the others worked to destroy the actual body. 

"He preyed upon the need to be normal and accepted by humans to keep mutants volunteering for his research. His entries are filled with graphic details of his test subjects' last moments. Had he lived much longer he would have deceived the whole world and brought an end to all mutants. And if you, Rogue, were to wear that collar any more your X-gene would decrease enough to stop being any kind of defense against the havoc it would wreak on your body. Considering the high traces of lead, I've no doubt your brain would have been permanently damage or you would have died from lead poisoning." 

Hank and Logan had both moved to stand behind Rogue and give their full attention to all the Professor was saying. As the calm, but somewhat sad flow of words came to a stop, Hank stumbled back to collapse in one of his desk chairs and menacing growls were emanating from Logan's furious body at the knowledge that anyone – human or mutant – could contemplate such a deception let alone carry it out.

An absolutely stunned Rogue was still staring into the Professor clear, concerned eyes with a look of utter disbelief in her own.

The Professor squeezed her hands in his and whispered, "I would give anything for there to be another way, Rogue, but there is not. I am more sorry than you will ever know."

At his heartfelt words, her hands went slack in his and her eyes slid shut. Had Logan not been standing right behind her, she would have hit her head on the floor as she fell backward in a dead faint. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: This particular chapter fell together kind of roughly and may need further work. What you've read is my third try at exploring the Mystique's gift more in-depth and I think it came out pretty well compared to the other versions. Please critique at will and offer any suggestions you think may improve the piece.


	9. The Ways of Recovery

"Marie – "

"Don't call me that!" she ordered Logan as he again tried to offer her some kind of comfort. "There's a reason Ah couldn't remember that name. Mahrie is dead! Rogue is ahll Ah have left!"

"No!" He gripped onto her shoulders and jerked her upright to snarl into her face. "I've put up with this shit for two days now and it stop right now! You _are_ Marie and you have a hell of a lot more than Rogue left. You have your life. You have your health. You have your friends here. And God dammit, Stripes, you have **_me!_**

"I know – " she went to refute the claim in those two words, but he shook her roughly, "Yes, I do. I _know_ how you feel. All of us, even me deep down, want a cure for our mutation. Just wants to live the kind of life society has always said people should in books or on TV. You're not the only one that had hope that that Kent bastard had been on to something good for us just because you're the one most able to show your emotions at how badly you wanted it. Having that hope taken away is NOT the end of the world though. We take the blow, shake it off and focus on reality again. 

"I've given you all the time I'm going to for you to lay around here and mope like _all_ your dreams have been shattered, because they haven't. You dreamt you'd be accepted someday as you are and among everyone here you are. You dreamt that I'd sweep you up in my arms to be carried off to bed and made love to and I have. I'll do it again, too, every night of the rest of our lives!" he pulled her head back and claimed her lips hungrily.

For long moments he simply devoured her lips and she was too stunned to respond. Slowly the numbness that was all she'd felt in the two days since the brief euphoric rise then shattering fall of hope in the lab faded and she began to respond. As she did he laid them both back on the bed and wrapped her in his arms.

"You dream of controlling your mutation and you're getting closer every day." 

He said when he finally pulled away from her lips as they'd begun to react to the touch of his by drawing in his memories and mutation. Braced on his elbows above her, he looked deep into her eyes and continued his rough, passionate speech.

"You dream of lots more you've yet to tell me, but you better believe I'll make it all come true somehow. Marie is not dead inside you, she's just hiding until she strong enough to come out again. I'll make you strong enough. I'll make you so strong you'll never have to hide again."

He spoke those last words directly to the little girl and scared awkward teenager barely felt in the depths of Rogue's soul. 

She heard them and began to cry and grow stronger.

Soon Rogue was sobbing as she felt the angry, isolated, defensive, mutant personality that bore that name merge with the gentler, more vulnerable human one that was Marie.

Together as one for the first time since her mutation manifested itself, they clenched Logan tightly to the body they shared and cried against the crook of his neck where it met his broad, strong shoulder.

Realizing he had finally broken through to her, Logan squeezed her back, vowing to himself never to let go.

"I love you, baby. I love you so much, Marie."

He spoke the words hoarsely - over and over against her throat and lips and face.

"I love you too, Logan. Ah have for so long and Ah will forever," she finally relied after nearly an hour before she fell into an exhausted sleep.

~*~*~

"I'm ready to do it now."

The Professor looked up from the papers on his desk to see Rogue standing just inside the doorway of his office.

He was confused by her statement for a moment before her thoughts and body language told him exactly what she meant.

"I knew it would not take you long."

He smiled and sent out a call for Kitty to meet them outside the chamber where they held Mystique was still being held. He then motioned for Rogue to proceed him through the institute to that location.

They had a moment together before Kitty arrived and he used the time to ask a question he felt he already knew the answer to, but wanted to be sure.

"Would you like me to go with you?"

"No. I have to do this on mah own."

"What's up?"

Turning at Kitty's words and approach, he smiled at the other girl's easy return to her rather carefree ways after the traumatic events in her friend's life.

"I need you to take Rogue into see Mystique, then return to wait here with me until she's ready to leave."

Questions like "Why'd she wanna see _her_?' flew around in Kitty's thoughts, but she didn't speak them. She just offered her hand to Rogue, who latched onto it, and led them through the wall into the room beyond. Only seconds later, she returned alone.

~*~*~

"So this is why your Professor wouldn't let me go? Rogue needed to see her mommy?"

Mystique's taunt had no effect on Marie, who let the words pass by with no more response than a smile.

"You'll never get to me again."

The woman's blue body tensed at the absolute certainty the words were spoken with.

"Whatever your plans are – past, present or future – know that the only way they will ever include me it will be as the person guaranteed to thwart them. You will not ever manipulate me again. You will never be able to control me. I will never run from you again. _You_ will now forever be the one that seeks sanctuary from _me_.

"You wanted me strong and powerful and I am. I will grow stronger every day here with the X-Men and the powers you wished to control will be used against you at every turn. If you ever again give me the slightest reason to harm you – hurting my friends or I – I vow now that it will be the last thing you _ever_ do."

She moved forward to look directly into the shape-shifter's blank yellow eyes.

"You can call yourself my mother, curse me to be your daughter, but never doubt that no matter what, I will be your greatest enemy."

She knew her words were heard and forcibly accepted when Mystique's shoulders slumped and the woman's gaze fell to the floor.

__

~~Send Kitty back in now.~~

Standing up straight and staring down at the woman who had tried so hard and often to permanently damage her life, Marie and Rogue both screamed in triumph. 

"Oh," she added as Kitty entered and began leading her out of the room through the wall, "and _Mother_ all that goes double for the Wolverine."

~*~*~

"Can I go now?"

A slightly broken Mystique asked of the Professor, not even looking up as he was assisted into the room by Kitty.

"You had to know this kind of reaction was possible when you formulated such a plan, Mystique."

He frowned and looked at the shape-shifter with actual concern.

"Oh, I did, Xavier. I knew you and your crew try to manipulate her first. I never guessed you would succeed though."

The woman turned on him with her familiar rage and hatred.

"We had nothing to do with Rogue's decision, except to support it. You always failed to notice how strong the girl was, not just her powers. That oversight is what has done this, not the X-Men."

She made to attack him, but he shouted into her mind, causing her to grip her head and fall back.

"**Enough**!" 

Seeing she would not again try to harm him during this final meeting there, he relented.

"Before I send Kurt in to take you from here, I just want to second whatever it is that Rogue said to you. I also wish to issue a final warning to you. In trying to control Rogue with a device you knew would at the very least permanently damage her body and perhaps even kill her, you went too far. Break even the smallest law in the future and I will see that you are imprisoned with no chance of escape for the rest of your life. Harm any of my students again – ever – and I will allow Logan to handle the situation however he sees fit."

They both knew the Wolverine's method of punishment would be her death.

He felt the woman take his warnings to heart and finally called for Kurt to teleport into the room.

"Kurt, please be so kind as to take out this garbage."

"Vith pleazure."

As Kitty reappeared inside the chamber to lead the Professor out for the last time, Kurt appeared atop the fencing that surrounded the institute grounds.

Without hesitation, he dropped his biological mother from his perch down onto the garbage piled at the curb for pick-up. 

"Good-bye Mozzer," he said firmly, wiping his hands as if to rid them of the memory of having touched her for even a second.

He gazed at her as she laid sprawled where he'd dropped her – not hurt physically, but still reeling from all the emotional blows she'd sustained – then quickly dismissed her from his life as he teleported back into the institute.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A/N: I said a few chapters ago that Mystique is one of my favorite villains and I've not changed that stance, but as I wrote this piece I began to feel this was the way it should go. The X-Men really had reason to kill her, if ya think about it, and she deserved to have them all tell her what's what, especially Rogue. 

Also, I used just a hint of the movie Rogue in this series and I hope you noticed above how I turned Evo-Rogue into her namesake in the film, Marie. If not, then know now that's what has happened and why I write her as "Marie" in the next and final chapter.


	10. Finally, A Good Birthday

"So," Marie ran a silk glove covered fingertip over Logan's chest as they lay together in their bed. "What did you get me for my birthday this year?"

His body stirred at her teasing touches in the gloves he'd developed a slight fetish for in the months it had taken her to completely control her mutation. She'd succeeded after four months and had now real need for gloves in the eight months that had passed since that happy day, but they still made an occasional appearance. Tonight it was a pair of opera length black silk gloves, rather than the short little leather ones she had always worn before taking him as a lover. 

__

Damn there outta be a law against her wearing nothing but those gloves and a come take me expression on her face.

'Course they'd both be rushing to break that law at least once a month.

"Looooogaaan."

Her eyes were gleaming with laughter as she playfully drew out his name to try and get his attention on to her question and off the movements of her hand.

He grunted and gave her a slight glare for teasing him with her touch then wanting to talk so he couldn't enjoy it.

"It's after midnight now, so I wanna know whatcha got me for my birthday."

"Nuttin. Ya still haven't fully thanked me for what I got you for the last gift," he teased.

"Oh, really?"

She gave him a glaring look, shoved him flat on his back and planted her body on his.

He smiled at the huff he felt brewing in her. As he thought of the argument she was about to make contrary to his teasing statement, his body began reacting to their position.

"Ya gettin' forgetful in your old age, sugah? Need a replay of the things we did together in this very room after ya gave me mah Harley? If you can't remember, I'll be happy to remind you that I thanked you verbally and very very physically."

Oh, he remembered.

Nothing would ever take the memory of their first time together away.

Nor did he have any trouble remembering all the times since when they'd return from a ride on her Night Train and she'd rush him to their room to show him how much she loved the motorcycle.

But he always remembered and loved the way she reminded him of such things, so he folded his arms under his head and told her with his now fiery eyes to _remind_ away.

She caught on to the fact he was simply baiting her from the gleam in his eyes and the cocky quirk of one corner of his mouth.

Planting her gloved hands on the bed under his raised arms, she looked right into his hungry and laughing eyes as she moved to drag the tip of her tongue over that mouth.

He growled with pure desire as she wiggled her body slightly on his and continued licking at his lips, ignoring the invitation to enter he extended by opening his mouth.

All traces of laughter faded from his gaze as she watched. His arms went from casually folded under his head to yet another part of his body demanding more contact with hers.

She began rocking her core against his straining erection, leaving his flesh damp from the moisture he always created there.

When his arms unfolded from under his head and his hands made to grab her, she caught them in her own and pinned them to the bed above his head of silky black hair. He growled at the restraints he could have easily shaken off, but his eyes gleamed with pleasure at her show of strength.

Nothing aroused Logan more than knowing she was strong enough in every way to match him, passion for passion, need for need, hunger for hunger.

And love for love.

The emotion burned in both their eyes the second before they broke eye contact to finally exchange a deep passionate kiss.

His chest rumbled with a deep growl and she moaned loudly as their tongues slid against one another, dangled, part to explore each other's teeth and inner mouth, then returned to move together in a simulation of the act that their bodies would soon join to perform.

Their fingers tangled together and clenched on the bed above their bodies as the kiss continued until they were desperately pulling in air through their noses and lasted longer still until their lungs were near bursting with the need to really breathe.

Panting for breath, she pressed her face against the crook of his shoulder as she so often did. After only a few rapid breaths she lifted her gaze back to his a heartbeat before she shifted her legs and hips until his erection slid as deeply into her body as the position allowed.

Her eyes slid shut and she moaned with the ecstasy that showed so clearly in her expression at the feel of him filling her even that much.

They lay there a long moment to enjoy the feeling and then he grew even harder inside her, his body telling them both they needed to do more now.

Obeying that silent command and the need for more making itself known in her own body, Marie released her hold on his hands and carefully shifted until she sat straddling his hips.

On her knees over him, she looked into his eyes, ran her freed hands over his chest then sank down completely onto his body.

Her hands clenched on his pecs and her held fell back as he slid deeply inside of her.

Having drawn the teasing out too long, her body immediately began rising and falling on his shaft. She pulled her hands from his chest and placed them on her own to tease her nipples as she lost herself in the pleasure she was taking from the length of him thrusting inside her.

The sight of those hands in their black satin moving over her own breasts as she used him to pleasure her writhing body, unleashed the animal in Logan.

He had left his hands above his head even after she released them, comfortable to let her take things at her own pace without any urging from him, but now they dove to grasp her hips.

At his urging, her body began doing less of a rise and fall and more of a circular grinding motion against his. The motions rubbed her hypersensitive clitoris against his groin and touched on all kinds of nerve endings inside her channel.

"Logan!"

Her head fell forward and her eyes flew open to lock with his at one highly pleasurable turn of his flesh inside her.

Knowing she was close and needing release now himself, he lifted himself up until his mouth could clamp onto her hard right nipple and draw the areola into his mouth. Two strong suctions of the flesh he nearly swallowed and then she was flying spasming around him, convulsing above him, and crying out his name.

Not releasing the breast, he moved his hands from her hips to wrap around her body and pull it to his while rolling her until their positions reversed. Letting her swollen and slightly reddened flesh slip from his mouth, he levered his torso up and began thrusting powerfully into her until his body exploded, spilling deep inside her core.

In the midst of his powerful climax, he subconsciously felt her body clenching around him again in another orgasm.

~*~*~

After recovering from their passionate mating, they were again lying curled in each other's arms with Marie demanding to know what her birthday present was.

Smiling at how cute she was when she was so impatient and demanding, Logan slid naked from the bed. 

Unconcerned by his nudity, he walked around the bed to the bedside table next to Marie. She turned over and propped herself up on her side to watch as he open the table's rarely used drawer and pull out a small velvet pouch.

With it in hand, he knelt beside Marie and maneuvered her into a sitting position on the edge of the bed before him. Having no idea what he was up to, she sat there and wondered why he was removing her gloves.

He dropped the expensive silk items carelessly onto the floor then open the pouch and shook the contents into the palm of his left hand.

Dropping the now empty pouch to join the gloves and lifted his gaze to hers.

She looked into his brown eyes, frowned at the anxiousness and uncertainty she saw there, than looked down into his palm.

Cradled in his strong hand was a silver ring.

He lifted it up for her to get a better look at the symbols etched gracefully into the ring's surface.

"It's an eternity ring. The symbols are Chinese. You seem to have liked the ring Jean gave you last year with saying "good luck" so I thought you might like this one."

"It's beautiful, Logan," she plucked it away from him and began looking more closely at the writing. "What's it say?"

"Roughly translated – Love lasts forever."

Her attention flew from the ring to his face with a gasp at his words. Seeing that he wasn't joking, the sentiment touched her deeply and her eyes misted with emotional tears.

Suddenly he frowned and took it away from her.

"There's only one way you get it though."

Her eyes widened in shock that he might actually keep the treasure from her. 

"You have to agree to marry me. Then you get this and later a wedding band to match it."

At first the words didn't make sense.

Then their meaning dawned on her like the warm sun breaking through a cold night.

Overjoyed she smiled brilliantly, but couldn't resist teasing.

"That ain't exactly askin', sugah."

He growled and glared at her obvious decision to be difficult in this, as she was most everything else.

"Marie, I love you. Will you marry me?"

The words were abrupt and practically snarled, but she could care less about _how_ he asked her so long as he had asked.

She slid from the bed to kneel wedged between it and his body. Her arms slipped around his neck and her hands tangled in the hair at his nape. She leaned forward to playfully nuzzle her nose against his before pulling back to stare steadily into his eyes.

"Logan, I love you, too. I will marry you and proudly wear this beautiful ring and the wedding band to follow."

Her lips pressed gently to his as she finished speaking and she kissed him with all the tenderness of her love.

She felt the relief run through him as he returned the caress for a moment before he pulled back.

Without speaking, but with love clearly visible in his eyes, he slid the ring onto the bare ring finger of her left hand. 

Once he had it in place, Logan simply stared at her hand and thought how his ring looked as if it had always belonged right where it was. Growling with possession and satisfaction her reclaimed her lips wrapped her tightly against him and rose to tumble them both back into their bed.


	11. The Finishing Touch

A large gathering of past, present and future X-Men watched as they exchanged their wedding vows and rings seven months later. 

The single men watching groaned at how happily the legendary Wolverine committed himself to one woman.

The single women sighed at how beautiful the infamous Rogue looked in her white gown and sighed dreamily at how obvious the Wolverine's love for his bride was.

Married men and women, like Scott and Jean, exchanged tender glances as the beautiful ceremony reminded them of their own.

~*~*~

After five months as Mrs. Wolverine (yes that was the surname they had chosen for themselves) Marie was celebrating her 20th birthday as well as the news that they were seven months from having the first of what they hoped to be at least two children.

~*~*~

Just two weeks before her doctor's estimated delivery date, Logan stood guard over Marie's hospital bed as she lay there cradling their newborn son to her breast.

Charles Kurt Wolverine.

Their precious creation had been named for the incredible man who had helped them both so much as well as make it possible for them to have even ever met and Marie's beloved adopted brother.

"He looks just like his daddy," she whispered.

"Got your nose, thank goodness."

She turned from her awed inspection of their son to stare at her beloved husband's nose.

"Your nose is perfect, sugah. I love every bit of it."

He barked out a laugh and leaned down to nuzzle said nose against her cheek.

"Just my nose, darlin'?" he teased into her ear.

"Well," she smiled up into his face, "I could think of a few other things I love about you, but there are innocent little ears present."

He growled playfully and nipped her earlobe.

Their son shifted against her and she reluctantly called for a nurse to return him to the nursery.

She sighed, thinking how she couldn't wait until they checked out of here tomorrow to return to their recently completed cottage on a back corner of the institute's vast property.

"Tired, darlin'?"

He settled into a chair at her bedside and took her hand in one of his while brushing a white lock of hair from her cheek.

"A lil."

"Get some sleep. We'll be home again in no time."

Her hand tingled warmly where he'd kissed it while making that statement and she smiled at him a little drowsily.

"I love you so much."

"I love you to, Marie. For eternity."

Knowing it to be true and feeling the exact same way herself, she gazed at him adoringly until her eyelids were to heavy to stay open and she fell into a peaceful sleep.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Author's Note – With that, I conclude this series. I hope that all have enjoyed reading the journey from "Logan in a Different Light" to here just a fraction as much as I did writing it. Also, I didn't really proofread this chapter as it really seemed to flow naturally into the computer and as it's passed the spellchecker, I'm gonna trust that my mother's strictness in correct grammar as I grew up has paid off and made the piece without errors. If you see any though let me know asap and I'll edit and repost. :-) That offer goes for pretty much every chapter, so remember emails are welcome at missmishka@aol.com 


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